RNC using donor funds to pay Donald Trump’s legal bills in N.Y.

On Nov 23, 2021

The Republican National Committee is paying some of former President Donald Trump’s personal legal bills in a New York criminal investigation examining his company’s business practices, the RNC acknowledged on Monday.

The RNC paid $121,670 to the law firm of Trump attorney Ronald Fischetti after a request from Trump’s team over the summer, according to The Washington Post. The RNC’s executive committee approved the payments in recent weeks, a source told the outlet. Though some in the party have urged RNC chair Ronna McDaniel to show more independence from the former president, her allies told the Post that “Trump remains the biggest fundraising draw for the party, and it is important to stay in his good graces.”

The payments are highly unusual, especially since the New York investigation, led by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James, has nothing to do with Trump’s presidential campaigns or his time in the White House. Rather, it’s a long-term criminal inquiry into the business practices of the Trump Organization and various other Trump private entities. A source familiar with the RNC decision told the Post that the party agreed to help pay Trump’s bills after James vowed to aggressively investigate the former president’s businesses during her 2018 campaign for her current seat, even though Trump has not been personally or directly accused of wrongdoing to this point.

“I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn,” James told supporters in her victory speech.

The source told the outlet that the RNC is not paying Trump’s other legal bills, including those stemming from his battle with the House committee investigating his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“As a leader of our party, defending President Trump and his record of achievement is critical to the GOP,” the RNC said in a written statement. “It is entirely appropriate for the RNC to continue assisting in fighting back against the Democrats’ never ending witch hunt and attacks on him.”

The RNC has previously helped fund Trump’s legal bills, despite his claim to be a billionaire and his own massive political fundraising operation, which has more than $100 million in cash on hand, according to the Post.

“The RNC is our important partner in advancing America First policies and fighting back against the endless witch hunts,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told the outlet. “The Democrats have become obsessed with weaponizing their offices against President Trump, which is a complete abandonment of their Constitutional obligations.”

The RNC previously paid for lawyers that represented Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. in the Russia probe and other campaign-related investigations. The payments drew a Federal Election Commission complaint because the…